R&B great Murdock, funksters Zapp to perform at Grantfest

Thursday

Aug 29, 2013 at 6:42 PM

Bill Blankenship

Although Shirley Murdock and Zapp, the two headliners at this weekend’s Kansas Black Expo Grantfest, will perform free concerts on different nights on an outdoor stage at Cushinberry Park, their careers share a common root.

Murdock, who will sing at 8 p.m. Friday, was singing gospel music in her hometown of Toledo, Ohio, when Roger Troutman hired her as a background singer for his family’s group, Zapp, which will take the stage at 7 p.m. Sunday in the triangle-shaped park east of S.E. Madison between 15th and 17th streets.

Troutman would record with Murdock and produce them, including her best-known hit, the ethereal ballad "As We Lay," which in 1986 rose to No. 5 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, crossed over and reached No. 21 on the Adult Contemporary list in 1987 and made it to No. 23 that year on The Billboard Hot 100.

Murdock, a singer-songwriter, scored three more Top 10 R&B singles: "Go On Without You" (No. 5, 1987), "Husband" (No. 5, 1988) and "In Your Eyes" (No. 7, 1991). Murdock was re-introduced to gospel when Bishop T.D. Jakes not only featured her on his 1999 "Sacred Love Songs" and "Storm Is Over" CDs, but signed her to his record label.

Murdock’s gospel CDs have earned Stellar Award and Dove Award nominations, and she also has sharpened her acting skills in gospel stage plays in which she has co-starred with Cuba Gooding, Tyler Perry, Clifton Powell, Billy Dee Williams, Robin Givens and others.

Zapp, which performed to rave reviews at last year’s Kansas Black Expo Grantfest, began in Hamilton, Ohio, with brothers Roger, Lester, Larry and Tony Troutman. Long before T-Pain introduced the music scene to the world of auto tune, The Zapp Band was cranking out hits with the help of their trademark vocoder talk box.

Also known as Zapp and Zapp & Roger, the Zapp Band spent much of the 1980s dominating the R&B charts with hits like "More Bounce to the Ounce," "Dance Floor" and "Computer Love," which featured Murdock on vocals.

The group’s career was thought over when on April 25, 1999, when Roger Troutman was shot to death by Larry Troutman, who then turned the gun on himself. Encouraged by the brothers’ mother to do so, Lester Troutman reformed the band with brother Terry and original member and keyboardist Greg Jackson as the base and adding others to recreate the Zapp danceable sound.

The Kansas Black Expo Grantfest, with the latter part of the event title a memorial to the late Topeka philanthropist Grant Cushinberry, also will include vendors, concessionaires and arts and crafts daily and a gospel music concert at 8 p.m. Saturday and church services and family picnics at 2 p.m. Sunday.

The Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site, 1515 S.E. Monroe, also will participate in the event with free activities Saturday, including children’s games, craft projects and a bike rodeo from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., storyteller Bobby Norfolk at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. and other presenters and events.

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